RCW80

Residing is the rich star fields of the constellation Centaurus, RCW80 (aka Gum 48d) is a HII region ionised by the supergiant HR 5171B. The nebula's structure takes the form of a shock wave bow caused by violent interstellar winds. RCW80 is part of a much larger cloud complex located in the Centaurus spiral arm and is a highly active star forming region. The open cluster NGC5281 shines brilliantly at top right of the presented image. RCW80 resides approximately 11,500 light years away. (credit cosmicphotos)